European Track Season Heats Up

There is perhaps no better time to be a fan of track and field than late July, when the world's best runners line up for big-money meetings in preparation for the championship racing to come. This week featured more elite track action than any other so far this year, and American fans saw plenty of bright spots heading into next month’s world championships in Daegu. We recap the best of the best here, and finish off with two domestic road races that hint at more good stateside racing to come in August and September.

Herculis Diamond League Meeting – Monaco Heading into the summer season, Monaco was tapped as one of the best meets of the year, and on Friday it more than lived up to the hype. There was no clear highlight, as all the distance races were noteworthy for different reasons. But the best single performance came in the men's steeplechase, where Kenyan Brimin Kipruto posted the year's first sub-8:00 clocking and missed the world record by a mere .01. His 7:53.64 was the second best race ever behind Saif Saaeed Shaheen's 7:53.65 from 2004, and with an atrocious final hurdle that saw him stutter and flail over the barrier, one has to believe the record should have been his. Ezekiel Kemboi (7:55.76) and Paul Koech (7:57.32) dipped under 8:00 for the Kenyan sweep. Way back in 11th, American Billy Nelson ran a 8:17.27 personal best.

The men's 800m also provided fireworks, and American Nick Symmonds showed he is not far from being able to compete with the best in the world. As expected, David Rudisha won in a fast 1:42.61, leading the entire final circuit; he seems to be rounding into shape at just the right time. Asbel Kiprop, coming off a disappointing Kenyan trials, stepped down from his usual 1500m to race to an impressive 1:43.15 PB, while Symmonds had a huge final 100m to grab third in 1:43.83, his fastest race of the year. The men's 1500 featured another 1-2 finish from Kenya: Silas Kiplagat, like Rudisha, is improving with every week and won in a world-leading 3:30.47, while young Nixon Chepseba ran 3:31.74 to finish second. Abubaker Kaki of Sudan, reversing Kiprop's strategy, stepped up from his 800m specialty for a super-impressive 3:31.76. Nick Willis ran a 3:31.79 PR and NR for fourth and American Matt Centrowitz managed a 3:34.46 10th place, also a PR.

Great Britain's Mo Farah must be considered the favorite heading into the world championships in Daegu after his 12:53.11 world leader and national record win in the men's 5000m. American Bernard Lagat finished second in 12:53.60, also a national record, as seven runners cracked 13:00. Unfortunately, Lagat was the only American to do it, as Galen Rupp and Chris Solinsky both crashed out of the race and Matt Tegenkamp ran a disappointing 13:14.75.

In the only women's distance race of the evening, Maryam Jamal looked like the dominant runner of old, winning the 1500m in 4:00.59. American Morgan Uceny ended her winning streak with a third place finish, but continued her strong running with a personal best 4:01.09.

International Sport and Solidarity Meeting – Lignano, Italy The early week meet in Lignano featured a host of American runners, many of whom had solid races. Khadevis Robinson and David Torrence went 1-2 in the men's 800m, running 1:44.45 and 1:45.98, while U.S. runners went 1-5 in the women's two-lap event. Amazingly, .Morgan Uceny (1:58.37), Alice Schmidt (1:58.61), Molly Beckwith (1:59.12), Maggie Vessey (1:59.17) and Geena Gall (1:59.12) all cracked 2:00. Jordan McNamara continued his fine late-season form, running 3:37.19 in the 1500m, though it was not quite enough to beat Ethiopian Henok Legesse's 3:36.45 winning time. Dorian Ulrey, who ran 3:37.68, also seems on the upswing.

Spitzen Meeting – Lucerne, Switzerland A small meet in Switzerland attracted some talent during the busy week of racing, as Juan Luis Barrios of Mexico showed by making the trek across the Atlantic to cruise to an easy 7:42.82 win in the men's 3000m. The win came over Americans Ben Blankenship, who returns next year to run for the University of Minnesota, and 1500m specialist Will Leer. Blankenship clocked 7:49.70, while Leer crossed the line right behind in 7:50.54. Great Britain's Barbara Parker ran 9:35.56 to get the win in the women's steeple, while heavily-raced Delilah Dicrescenzo, who will represent the U.S. in Daegu, was third in 9:42.84. Alice Schmidt, racing for the fourth time in two weeks, again dipped under 2:00, winning the 800m in 1:59.74.

Russian Athletics Championships – Cheboksary, Russia There were plenty of notable performances at Russia's national championships — the continued resurgence of Yuri Borzakovski among them — but the women put on an absolute show in the 800m final, producing perhaps the most impressive race in the world this week. Maria Savinova blasted away to win in a world-leading 1:56.95 (after running 1:58.03 in the prelim), but Yuliya Rusanova wasn't far behind, finishing second in 1:56.99. As if the top two performances weren't impressive enough, Yekaterina Kostetskaia ran 1:57.19 for third, Svetlana Kliuka was fourth in 1:58.03, and Yelena Kofanova finished fifth in 1:58.25. The top four times in the world this year over 800m now all belong to Russian women. Borzakovski, meanwhile, had to settle for a more modest 1:45.76 win in the men's race. Further cementing Russia's status as the deepest middle-distance country in the world not in East Africa, Yekaterina Martynova won the women's 1500m in 4:01.68, a personal best by almost three seconds.

Barcelona International Meeting Barcelona hosted a meet for the non-Monaco runners, where American Tyler Mulder, who has been under the radar all year despite solid efforts for the Oregon Track Club, popped a quality 800m in 1:44.83. Ilham Tanui Ozbilen proved Diamond League races aren't the only places “A” standards are run: he won the men's 1500m in 3:32.94, pulling Daniel Komen (3:32.95) and American Lopez Lamong (3:33.59) with him. The women's 1500m was equally world-class, and Ekaterina Gorbunova's 4:01.02 winning time would have been second in Monaco. Finally, Zersenay Tadese of Ethiopia became the eighth man under 13:00 for 5K this week with a dominant 12:59.32 win.

Jeff See, apparently forgoing a late-summer European season, traveled to Michigan for the Ryan Shay Mile, which he won last year in 3:55.9. The former Ohio State standout defended his title in the 2011 edition of the race, but only ran 3:58.3 this year. Penn State's Ryan Foster appears to be near the end of a very long season, as he could only manage 4:03.8, good for fifth place. On the women's side, Andrea Parker got the win in 4:40.0.

Silas Kipruto of Kenya made quick work of this annual Santa Cruz race, winning the 6-miler in 26:56, while countryman Shadrack Kosgei was second in 27:12. Brett Gotcher finished as top American in fourth, crossing the line in 27:32. Of note, former high school standout Yong-Sung Leal, from San Francisco, was sixth in 28:11 after disappearing from the running scene for years. Meanwhile, Magdalena Lewy Boulet, fresh off a personal best 10K on the track at the U.S. Championships in Eugene, completely crushed the women's field to win in 30:49.